Bradley Wiggins: It would be a 'real shame' if Mark Cavendish wasn't at the Tour de France
Cavendish's former teammate and Madison partner thinks it would be "crazy" not to pick him
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

The last time Mark Cavendish won on the Champs-Élysées, he was given a golden leadout by Bradley Wiggins in the yellow jersey. That was his third victory of 2012 in his only year at Team Sky, a deluxe add-on to their first Tour de France triumph.
Ten years on, Wiggins might not be riding - he is now a Eurosport/GCN pundit - but Cavendish still is, and has won 11 stages since 2012. Last summer he won four, equalling Eddy Merckx's record of 34 in the process; he also won the green jersey, his second.
Despite this, it is looking unlikely that the Manx Missile will line up in Copenhagen next week for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl. His team are thought to be heading there with Fabio Jakobsen instead, with the man 12 years his junior seen as the better fit by the team.
Earlier this year, Cavendish said that reports of a rivalry between him and Jakobsen over a Tour de France spot were "lazy", but it is thought to be a toss-up between the pair for a place in Quick-Step's team.
“My assumption is that Mark’s probably not going,” Wiggins said in a press conference on Thursday.
"Patrick [Lefevere] knows what he’s doing but from a personal point of view, it would be a real shame if Cav’s not there,” he added.
Wiggins and Cavendish only spent two separate seasons on the same cycling team, at High Road in 2008 and then Team Sky in 2012, but have a close bond forged through British Cycling. The pair competed together on the track in the Madison, winning the World Championship race together in 2016.
This year, Cavendish has won four races, including a stage of the Giro d'Italia, while Jakobsen has won on ten occasions, and is thought to be the team's choice for the Tour, although the Quick-Step squad has not been announced yet.
“We’ve not got the argument that he shouldn’t go based on what he did last year and any other team would be crazy not to bring him to the Tour,” Wiggins said.
“He’s just won a stage in the Giro and I do find it hard, aside from the personal relationship that I have with him, if I look at it from a performance point of view, as to why you wouldn’t take him as part of a sponsor point of view, the impact that he has on the rest of the team, and the fact that he won four stages and the green jersey last year.
"Why wouldn’t you take the defending green jersey back to the team? I can’t see anyone in that team who would merit going ahead of him. It’s a strange thing.”
This year's Tour is not exceptionally sprinter-friendly, with many of the flatter stages coming with the potential of crosswinds and chaos, and very few flat finishes too.
The race begins in Copenhagen next Friday.
Bradley Wiggins will be back on the race motorbike providing regular updates from inside the peloton for discovery+, GCN+ and Eurosport. There will also be regular episodes of 'The Bradley Wiggins Show' podcast throughout the race. Every stage of the Tour de France will be live across discovery+ (opens in new tab), GCN+ and Eurosport in the UK. Territory restrictions may apply in your region.
Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Adam is Cycling Weekly’s senior news and feature writer – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling on tarmac, he's happy. Before joining Cycling Weekly he spent two years writing for Procycling, where he interviewed riders and wrote about racing, speaking to people as varied as Demi Vollering to Philippe Gilbert. Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to cycling.
-
-
'Don't use the bike': OPEN recalls all of its Campagnolo Ekar-equipped bikes and framesets
In Cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, OPEN Cycle has sent out a recall for all its Campagnolo Ekar-equipped gravel and road bikes.
By Anne-Marije Rook • Published
-
Tour of Flanders 2023: Five men and five women to watch on Sunday
Taking a closer look at the favourites ahead of this year's Ronde van Vlaanderen
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
100 days until the Tour de France: How the contenders are shaping up
How are the leading GC riders looking a century away from the biggest bike race of them all?
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Signing of Mark Cavendish leads to end of Scicon's Astana Qazaqstan sponsorship
Cavendish along with several other teammates currently wearing Oakley sunglasses during competition
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Summit finish and final day time-trial for 2024 Tour de France finale in Nice
Stage 20 will finish atop the Col de la Couillole before final day race against the clock in Nice
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Closing the gap: David Gaudu emerges from Paris-Nice more confident than ever before
The Groupama-FDJ rider finished second overall at the Race to the Sun, but gained more than just the result
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Goodbye lime: We need to talk about the Tour de France green jersey
There's change afoot at ASO's French races, with the combativity colour also undergoing a revamp
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Paris-Nice just first step on the road to Tour de France redemption for Tadej Pogačar
The UAE Team Emirates rider might have won the Race to the Sun but he is not taking anything for granted
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Tom Boonen invited to test Colnago V4Rs after criticism of Tadej Pogačar's bike
Boonen and fellow ex-pro Dirk de Wolf invited to Italy for a "public conversation" on the data they used to make claim that bike hindered two-time Tour de France champion
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
‘That’s not bad’ - Mark Cavendish pleased with first podium finish for Astana at UAE Tour
The British road champion recorded his best race result since joining Astana Qazaqstan
By Tom Davidson • Published